Páginas

3.30.2012

Asteroid Simulation Mission

NASA’s Research and Technology Studies (RATS) team was in action once
again as the group conducted initial testing to prepare for an
integrated test this summer. The team created a simulated near-Earth
asteroid (NEA) exploration mission in the Space Vehicle Mockup Facility
at Johnson Space Center in December 2011 and January 2012.

Various stations of rock setups are in place to practice gathering geologic samples in another world. Credit: NASA/STAFFORD

The team performed two three-day human factors studies of the new
multi-mission Space Exploration Vehicle (SEV) cabin, in addition to
conducting simulated asteroid spacewalks using several different
facilities at JSC. The SEV is being designed to have a flexible
architecture, allowing it to rove on a planetary surface atop a wheeled
chassis or fly in space using advanced in-space propulsion systems.
The JSC facilities used for the simulated spacewalks included the
Virtual Reality Lab, the Active Response Gravity Offload System (ARGOS)
and the Manned Maneuvering Unit trainer, or “air chair.” Testing
occurred Dec. 13 to 15 and Jan. 18 to 20.

December test participants were NASA astronaut Michael L. Gernhardt,
Ph.D., manager of Environmental Physiology Laboratory, principal
investigator of the Prebreath Reduction Program and SEV project manager;
and Brent Garry, Ph.D., geologist at the Planetary Science Institute.
January participants were NASA astronaut Alvin Drew Jr. (Col., United
States Air Force, retired); and José M. Hurtado Jr., Ph.D., professor of
physical geology, field geology, remote sensing, tectonic geomorphology
and planetary science at the University of Texas at El Paso.

The Action Plan

For three days and two nights during the simulations, the two-person
crews lived, worked, ate, slept and exercised in the SEV cabin.
Throughout the day, they traded responsibilities as extravehicular
activity (EVA) and intravehicular crew members. During the spacewalks,
the crews performed a variety of simulations using the suitports on the
aft end of the SEV to exit the vehicle. These simulations were conducted
for two reasons: 1) to provide a realistic level of crew activity to
effectively evaluate the use of the new SEV cabin, and 2) to study how
various systems and facilities at JSC might be used for future asteroid
simulations.

Conducting the test at JSC enabled the RATS team to use a medley of
tools and simulators that would be difficult to transport to traditional
field-test locations. A high-fidelity, physics-based NEA simulation was
a key component of the test and was integrated with the SEV’s control
system and projected on a large screen in front of the vehicle.

In
addition to the NEA simulation, the Virtual Reality Lab was engaged to
provide an immersive environment for the spacewalk crew members with
integrated, real-time graphics from the NEA simulation and modeling of
crew member motions and kinesthetic sensations.

The Air Bearing Floor
was another technology that allowed the crew to test the SEV in a
“flying” configuration on an air sled, rather than as a rover on wheels.
The ARGOS facility provided additional spacewalk simulation capability
by allowing the crews to conduct sample collection and translation
activities in a simulated microgravity environment. Last, the air chair
allowed the crew to simulate how a jet pack might operate in
microgravity and gain an awareness of the reaction forces one might
expect when working on an asteroid surface.

“What we’re doing here today is very interesting,” Gernhardt said. “We
worked with the engineering team here at NASA, and we developed this
really great integrated (simulation) where we’re actually living in the
Generation 2A Space Exploration Vehicle.”

Gernhardt explained that they actually flew around the simulated
asteroid and did a near-field survey, flying off the surface and
focusing on a 100-foot diameter area of interest. This allowed the team
to gain an understanding of how we may one day operate in close
proximity to an asteroid surface and measure the handling quality of the
SEV.

“Tests like this one allow us to demonstrate new technologies, such as
the SEV, while learning how we intend to operate them,” said test
coordinator James Johnson. “Ultimately we have to develop our
operational concept in parallel with the technology that will make that
concept a reality.”

Through the Virtual Reality Lab, the NEA simulation was able to
integrate with the Simplified Aid for EVA Rescue (SAFER) jet pack
simulation. The SAFER is used on space station spacewalks in case
astronauts become untethered, providing a way to fly back to safety, and
its operation is frequently trained in the Virtual Reality Lab. Having
the SAFER and NEA simulations incorporated allowed one crew member to be
on a jet pack flying around the asteroid surface while the other was in
the vehicle monitoring them. This type of coupling provides an
understanding of what it might be like to work on and around an
asteroid.

A mock SEV is shown in the "flying"
configuration, mounted on an air sled, moving across the air-bearing
floor. Credit: NASA/STAFFORD

The particular asteroid NASA will first visit hasn’t been chosen yet,
but engineers are developing tools that will allow optimization of the
hardware depending on the characteristics of the asteroid.

What Else Are They Looking At?

Another aspect of the study was to evaluate the mechanics and human
factors of suitports. Suitports allow a crew to conduct a spacewalk with
significantly shorter prebreathe time as compared to current station
spacewalks. Every time the crew exited the vehicle, they got into a
mock-up spacesuit through the second generation suitport. This occurred
four times a day during four one-hour spacewalks.

The ARGOS worksite had a number of different sampling sites set up,
allowing the team to evaluate different translation lines, lightweight
booms and geologic sampling techniques using a test protocol that was
exercised during the NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations (NEEMO)
15 analog mission. By repeating similar tests here at JSC with ARGOS,
the NASA’s Analog Missions team was able to validate some of the
concepts that the NEEMO mission exercised.

“It is this kind of synergy between each of NASA’s analog missions that
help the agency gain a better understanding of future mission
technologies, architectures and operational concepts,” said Analog
Missions Project Manager Barbara Janoiko.

“In the attempt to research various ways to explore an asteroid, we’re
looking at all aspects of that,” Gernhardt said. “Right now our basic
plans are to have a deep-space habitat (in which) we’d actually travel
to the asteroid. Once we get there, we would transfer to the smaller
space exploration vehicle and travel over to the asteroid and stay there
for a week at a time.”

Why Are Geologists Involved?

Professional geologists are a part of the team to help score how
productive the studies are in conducting simulated science operations.
The presence of geologists is important because future exploration of
the moon, Mars, asteroids and more will likely have a significant focus
on understanding the local geology.

“I think it’s very important to engage the scientific community in this
evolving process so that we can do the best science we can when we get
there,” Gernhardt said.

With RATS missions, an astronaut is teamed up with a geologist to help
learn geology and provide important operational background on how the
mission is conducted.